There is absolutely no doubt that we, as a society, are busier and more stressed than ever. Technology, often our friend, becomes our foe when we can’t shut down or turn off, even overnight. We have our daily routines, kids have their routines, and we are all bombarded by an overload of information and hundreds of tweets per minute. Yet, with work, school, activities, responsibilities, we often forget about the importance of community – that sense of belonging to some place, some where.

My husband and I do not have children. We sat down years ago and determined that with this extra time, we needed to do something with it. While others are raising families, we needed to focus our extra time to making sure the community they are growing up in, and we are living in, is the best it can be. We’ve been in our community of Aurora, Ohio for fourteen years. And in that time, we’ve really tried to donate our time and resources to making Aurora the best place to belong. Because it is the best place. And by paying some time and attention to Aurora, here and there through city committees, civic groups and church, we’ve met some really amazing people.

My husband and I received a tremendous honor the summer of 2013, we were nominated by members of our community, and selected by the City of Aurora, to be the Grand Marshals in our town July 4th parade. In addition to being Grand Marshals, we each received a Key to the City by our Mayor Jim Fisher.

At first, we were shocked and stunned, as we know, without a doubt, there are many more individuals, couples and families who do so much more for Aurora and have been doing it longer. The recognition of our efforts was so thoughtful, so appreciated, we realized that we must pay this act of kindness forward and make sure that those who have been sharing their time and talents would be recognized too. I hope our Parks & Rec department is prepared for the heaping number of Grand Marshal nominations coming from Brady and Julie Krebs next year.

I write this post, not just to tell our story, but to share with you that every effort, every bit of time, is so important to our communities, our schools and the lives, with which we share this earth. Take a moment to become part of something bigger than yourself and you will see immediate rewards. There are a number of organizations, with local chapters, that could use your time and talent. Check out a Rotary International chapter near you. This amazing group of 37,000 chapters and hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, has almost eliminated polio from this planet. And Rotary does so much more – international and local projects benefiting people everywhere – www.rotary.org

If time is just not possible, do consider donating money or resources to non-profit groups. These gifts do go a long way. If you are struggling with finding the right charity to support, visit Charity Navigator. This is a wonderful, online resource with a database of over 9,000 non-profit organizations, each objectively ranked to help you trust your decision that your dollars will do good work.

Please get involved and if you are already, tell others about your involvement and what you do. Share your experiences. Good does spread. Let’s keep the good driving forward to strengthen our lives and our communities.

– Julie Krebs
President + Principal Brand Advisor